Would You Pay $2100 For A Ham?

Yep, you read that title correctly. I didn't forget a decimal point, that does indeed read twenty-one hundred dollars. Or, if you prefer, $160 per pound.

The salt-cured Spanish 2006 Alba Quercus Reserve ham won't be available until 2008, but you can put your $250 deposit on it now. Producer Manuel Maldonado — whose family has been in the business for four generations — has taken the art of ham to the next level by pampering his pigs with a free-range life and high-quality acorn feed. He then cures the meat for two years, instead of the standard one.

Originally Maldonado had hoped to have a batch available for this year's holiday season, however the 2005 ham didn't live up to his standards. Next year he hopes to have 80 to 100 legs available for purchase. If you think the price is too extraordinary, Maldonado would like to remind you that:

"A ham like this can be shared among 20 people, he notes, whereas a bottle of the finest wine going for the same amount goes down quickly among just a few."

It's a really great point, but I still don't know if I could ever justify spending $2100 on a ham leg. However, you know I won't turn down the opportunity to taste such a fine product! Just looking at this picture is making me drool!

mmm.. bacon! the delicious food that turned me - a former vegetarian of 14 years - into a pork eater! Can't get enough. So, if I had the cash, I'd try it. But there's no way I would/COULD afford it anytime soon!

No way would I spend $2100 on a leg of ham, that is just crazy. Of course it would be a different story if I was super rich but seeing as that most likely will never happen I am perfectly happy buying my holiday ham for under $100.